SHRM26 Debrief · General Session · #1384
The Future of Work is Still Human
with Brad Rencher
& Simon Sinek
& Simon Sinek"AI right now is less popular than the war in Iran."
What it was about
At most companies AI is already in the work, but it's being bolted onto old job structures instead of redesigning them. The real leadership job is to rebuild the work around AI and talk about the change with candor and empathy, not just push more adoption.
By the numbers
73%
of companies say they are already using AI in some form
58%
of companies still haven't provided real guidance around AI use
6,000
employees Jack Dorsey laid off, publicly attributed to AI being able to do their jobs
Key notes
- Redesign work around what AI can actually do, rather than layering it onto existing workflows. Factories made the same mistake early on, keeping steam-era layouts after switching to electricity (the "dynamo effect").
- Ask which parts of a job AI should remove and which friction should stay because it builds human judgment, not just how to get more people using the tools.
- Communicate AI changes with candor and confidence, not toxic positivity or doom. Personalize the message to each employee's real question: "How does this affect me?"
The contrarian takeSimon Sinek calls headline claims of AI replacing thousands of jobs (like Jack Dorsey's 6,000-person layoff blamed on AI) "absolute nonsense." AI can't actually do that yet, he argues. The real cause is companies overhiring, then using AI as a convenient story so they don't have to admit the mistake to Wall Street.
Take this back Monday
Do this for your team
Ask 3 frontline employees which AI tools they already use and which annoying task steps should stay to build judgment.
Say this in your next leadership meeting
AI isn't a job-elimination problem, it's a work-redesign problem. We need to rebuild jobs around AI, not bolt it onto old workflows.
Watch out for
- Treating AI like "a better steam engine," bolting it onto unchanged workflows instead of redesigning the work itself.
- Framing disruption as an adoption problem and prescribing more training, prompting, and pilots, when the real issue is work that was never redesigned.
- Using toxic positivity ("everything's fine") or doomsday messaging instead of honest, confident talk about the uncertainty.
Fun fact · Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek is an adjunct staff member at RAND Corporation and founded The Curve, a group of police chiefs and sheriffs working to reform policing from the inside.
If this landed, see these
↳ Go deeperCulture Redefined: Architecting a Skills-Driven, Continuous Feedback CultureThe how-to the keynote skipped: kill compliance theater, tie feedback to skills.⇄ The counterpointLeading By Example: Aligning HR, Leadership, And Employees for Responsible AI AdoptionFlips the argument: HR should drive AI adoption, not slow it.✦ The unexpected oneUnwell at Work: Addressing the Health Challenges No One Talks AboutSome employees who 'can't adapt' are quietly managing undisclosed health conditions.